Potato digger



Dec 18, 1923. 31,477fi76 L. E. WATERMAN POTATO DIGGER Filed June 9, 1919 5 Sheets-$heet 1 Dec. 18, 1923 Y L. E. WATERMAN POTATO DIGGER ed June 9 191 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 18, 1923/ 1,477,676

L. E. WATERMAN POTATO BIGGER Filed June 9, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 L. E. WATERMAN POTATO DIGGER Dec. 18, 1923.v

Filed June 9, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 18,1923.

L. E. WATERMAN POTATO DIGGER Filed June 9, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec, 18, 1923.

LEWIS E. VVATEEMAN, OE ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO EMERSON-BRANTENGL HAIVI COMPANY, 01 ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

rora'ro Application filed June 9,

To all whom ii nan); concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS E. W'ATERMAN,

a citiren of the-United States residing at h 7 k3 .liiOCkfOlCl, in the'county ofVVinnebago and E e of Illinois, have invented certainnew a (r useful Improvements in Potato Diggers, of which thefollowing is a specificzv men.

This invention relates to machine potato diggers of the type characterized by an'indined elevator frame having a plowat its for vard end, an endless elevator and separator extending upwardly and rearwardly from the plow. and a: shaker at the r-ear of the elevator. The vines, potatoes and dirt are raised by the plow onto the elevator which separates the dirt from the vines and potatoes and delivers the latter onto the shaker, which further separates the vines and potatoes and delivers them separa'telyatthe rear of the machine,

In the absence of theuse of an inde' pendent power unit to drive the elevator and shaker, power is taken from the mainsupporting wheels for driving these devices. It is desired to disconnect such devices from the driving means when the machine is simply being transported out of o aeration, and heretofore clutcheshave been included in the driving means for this purpose. But' these driving connections and clutch constructions have been very inconvenient and troublesome to operate, in that it was necessary fortlie driver to lea-vehis seat on the machine to throw out certain gears or make certain adjustments to dis continue or establish the driving connection. On the other hand, several driving connections have been provided in whicha clutch is automatically operated when the plow is raised and lowered; but so far as l am aware, thedevices of this character have never been commerciallysuccessful, because they. have not satisfied certain conditions and requirements inherent in the-construction and operation of potato digging niachines. In other words, the general practice is to transmit power through a chain and sprocket connection from each driving wheel to the adjacent end of the elevator drive shaft, or to a sprocket wheel meshing directly with the endless elevator. The clutches inter-posed inthese d ing connections do not under all conditions have the proper engagement, and consequently BIGGER.

a torsional strain or unequal drive is im posed on the elevator or. its immediate driving shaft, which is detrimental to the operation.

l The primary. object of the present inven tion is to overcometheseobjeetions by the provision of a' generally improved potato digger including a. novel driving mechanism, which willbe automatically engaged and disengaged when the plow is lowered and raised respectively, and willltransmit the drive in an entirely practical and satisfactory manner.

Another object is to provide a control in which by operation of a single lever, the driver can simultaneously raise the plow out of the ground to an inoperative position, elevate the rear end of the shaker so that the same shall not be damaged in turning or backing, and disconnect the drive wheels from the elevator and shaker. So far as i am aware, these operations have HGYQL been simultaneously performed through the agency of a single operat inglever.

Still another object is to support the shaker in a' novel manner with the view to giving it amost effective shaker1 action, this being accomplished in the present instance by the peculiar arrangementof the pendent shaker-supporting linksp Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 7 Figure 1 is a side elevationof'a machine potato digger embodying my improve ments;

Fig. 2, a plan View of the potato digger;

Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional'view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4:, an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line l-l of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 and6, fragmentary sectional views taken substantially on the lines 55 and 6-6 respectively, of Figs; and

Fig, 7, a full size detail view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig; 5.

In the present illustration of my improvements, the main frame which will be termed the-elevator frame, designated generally by reference character 8, is tiltably supported intermediate its ends on thethrough axle 9 equipped with a bearing bracket 16 in which the axle 9 is journaled. An endless elevating conveyor and separator 17 of suitable link construction, trained over rollers 18 at the forward end of the frame and sprocket wheels 19 fixed to the drive shaft 15, is adapted to be agitated through its upper reach by elliptical idlers 21, or by any other means suitable for the purpose.

The forward end of the main frame is joined to a pole truck or draft frame designated generally bycharacter 22. The side bars of the pole truck are in the'form of goose-neck beams 25 pivotally connected at their lower extremities to the forward portion of the main frame at the point 26. By means of a connection operating between the main frame and the pole truck the'pivotal point 26 is raised so as to tilt the main frame about the axle 9 to raise the plow 13 from the ground. For this purpose, a' rock shaft 27 mounted on the beams 25. of the pole truck, is equipped with crank ends 28 connected to the main frame rearwardly of the pivots 26 by means of the connecting rods 29. A hand lever 31 fixed to the shaft 27 and having the usual latch connection with a notched segment is adapted to be operated forwardly and backwardlyto lower and elevate the plow, it being manifest that when the lever is swung rearwardly from the position shownin Fig. 1, the main 7 frame 8 will be tilted in a counter-clockwise direction about the axle, thereby raising the plow-to an elevated inoperative position, a contractile spring 32 being employed to assist in this movement.

The vines and potatoes after having been elevated by the endless elevator 17 are delivered onto a shaker at the rear of the elevator, which by its riddling action loosens the dirt from the potatoes and a so separates the vines therefrom, delivering the potatoes onto the ground at the rear of the machine.

It is desired to raise the rear end of the shaker to an elevated inoperative position when the plow is raised so that when backing the machine or transporting it idly there wil be no chance of damaging the tines; and it is further desired to elevate the shaker simultaneously with and by the operation of raising the plow. This is effected by a connection between the shakersupporting frame 37 and the manually operabe shaft 27 at the front of the machine. Such connection consists of a link 54: connected at its rear end to the forward arch 39 of the shaker-supporting frame and at mounted on the shaft.

its forward end to a notched segment 55 loosely mounted on the shaft-{27 and 00-0 erable with a hand lever 56, also loosey evident that when the plow 13 is raised by swinging the hand lever 31 rearwardly, the pole truck frame and consequently the shaft 27, will be shiftedupwardly and forwardly and the rear end of the elevator frame rearwardly and downwardly so that by reason of the relative movement between the shafts l5 and 27 the connecting'link 5 1 will be drawn forward and will swing the shakersupporting frame 37 in a clockwise direction about the shaft 15, thus elevating the rear end of the-tines sufiiciently to be out of dan er when backing or turning around.

' l eans'are now provided for driving the It will be plainly elevator shaft '15 at both ends from, the" wheels 11 and in such a manner that the drive may be instantly and equally transmitted to both ends of said shaft simultaneously with lowering the plow into working position, and discontinued upon raising the plow to inoperative position. These means consist of afdriving connectionbetween each wheel and the adjacent end of the shaft 15 including a clutoh especially designed to meet the conditions present, and a clutclroperating member controlled by movement of the plow into and outrof working position. The drive'connection at each 7 side of the machine being similar, a descrip tion of one will suffice. Referringparticu larly to Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive it will be seen that the driving wheel 11 is fixed to a relatively long sleeve bearing-57 loose on the axle and that a casing 58 having an internal toothed ratchet face 59 is fixed to and contiguous with the sleeve 57 andthe hub of the drive wheel. A relatively large diameter driving spr0cket61 loosely revoluble about the axis is, in the present instance, constructed to provide a hub 62 journalled on the sleeve 57, a radial wall 63closing the openside of the ratchet casing, and anill) nular walls64 extendinglaterally from both 7 sides of the central wall or web 63 and serving to prevent the entrance of dust and dirt and other foreign particles to the clutch parts. The driving sprocket 61 carries a pair of diametrically opposed pawls or dogs having a part 65 disposed in the compartment between the casing 58 and the web 63 and engageable with the internaltoothed face and a part 66 disposed at the inner side of the web 63 and serving as a tapp'et adapted to be actuated by an operating part for disengaging the part 65 from said toothed face. The tooth-engaging part 65 of each pawl has a pivot'boss67 (Fig. 7)

revoluble in an aperture 68 in the web 63 and a reduced end 69 which receives the through anarcua te: opening 72 in the web 63. Bolts 7 3' and 74 passing through the bosses 67 and 71 respectively connect the parts 65 and 66 tiXed'lyf together and. yet allow these parts to oscillate as a unit about the boss 67. The part 66 is provided with an actuating finger or tapp'et 75 disposed in substantially right angular relation to the tooth-engaging part andin co-operative relation with an operating member designatedgenerally by character 7 6' loosely revol'uble about an annular bearing 77 formed integral with the fixed bearing 16 which is connected to theframe. The pawls are constantly urged by means of expansion springs 7 8 into engagement with the toothed face 59' and areadaptedto be disengaged therefrom by actuating the tappets through means ofthe operating member 76. This operating member as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, has an annular operating face 7 9 of frusto-conical shape and is adapted to be moved lengthwise of the axleto bring its annular surface into contact with the tappets 7 5 and move the same radially by the inclination of said annular surface, thus disengaging the pawls against the pressure of the springs 78. A simple and effectual way of imparting this longitudinal movement to the operating member 76 is through means of spirally arranged threads or guides 81 formed on the periphery of the bearing 77 and fitting in similar spiral recesses in the member 76. By means of an operating link 82 connected to a depending lug on the member 76, the latter may be oscillated and thereby moved lengthwise of the axle for actuating the pawls. It will be evident that by oscillating the member 76in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 5, this member will be moved outwardly, that is, to the right viewing Fig. 4, and will thereby disengage the pawls and hold them in inoperative position. It will be especially noted that due to the annular surface 79 of the operating member 76, the pawls 65 will be instantly engaged regardless of the position in which the sprocket wheel 61 is standing. Thus when the o erating members 76 at both sides of the mac ine are simultaneously operated both sprocket wheels will be instantly and correspondingly put into operation, and since these sprocket wheels are in direct driving connection with the adjacent ends of the elevator drive shaft 15, it will be manifest that this shaft will be simultaneously and equally driven at both ends. The connection between each drive sprocket 61 and the elevator drive shaft is through the medium of a suitable sprocket chain 83 trained over asprocket gear fixed to the shaft 15 and over suitable idler gears 84c arranged so that the chain meshes with the drive sprocket 61 only on the lower reach of the chain. The clutch-operating rods 82 reach forwardly and have a yielding con nection with the pole truck frame 83 whirh yielding connection prevents breakage of the clutch parts when the latter are not in immediate position to respond to movement of the pole truck frame. By reason of these connections between the pole truck frame and the clutches the latter will be automatically disengaged when the plow is raised and engaged when the plow is lowered.

In the operation of my improved potato digger, the operator seated on the machine will lower the plows into the ground by manipulating the hand lever 31, that is, by pressing the lever forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1. This not only puts the plow in working position in the ground, but as explained above, lowers the shaker to working position and also simultaneously engages both clutches so that the elevator drive shaft 15 will be equally driven from both ends. Upon the reverse movement of this operating lever, the several operative parts will be simultaneously rendered inoperative. Thus the operator by means of a single lever controls all of the operating parts of the machine and by this means is enabled to quickly put the machine into and out of operation. As a consequence, the operator can more quickly, accurately and conveniently handle the machine because less time and attention are required for operating or adjusting the different parts and practically his whole attention can be directed to managing the horses and making the turn properly.

While I have illustrated and described one practical working embodiment of my improvements, it should be understood that various changes might be made in the construction and arran ement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an implement of the character described, the combination of an axle, a pair of driving wheels supporting the axle, a frame supported on the axle and adapted to be tilted thereon, a transverse driven shaft journaled on the frame, a drive member for each drive wheel concentric with and loose on the axle, a direct driving connection between each drive member and the adjacent end of the driven shaft, a clutch concentric with and operable between each drive member and the adjacent drive wheel for connecting and disconnecting said drive member and wheel, and means for automatically operating the clutches by tilting the frame.

2. In an implement of the character described, the combination of an axle, a pair of drive wheels supporting the axle, a frame supported on the axle and adapted to be tilted thereon, a transverse driven shaft till journaled on the frame, a drive member for each drive wheel concentric with and loose on the axle, a direct driving connection be tween each drive member and adjacent end of the driven shaft, a clutch concentric with and operable between each drive member and the adjacent drive wheel for connecting and disconnecting said drive member and wheel, and a connection between the frame and movable element of each clutch for connecting and disconnecting the latter by tilting the frame.

3. In an implement of the character described, the combination of an axle, a pair of driving wheels supporting the axle, a frame supported on the axle and adapted to be tilted thereon, a transverse driven shaft iournaled on the frame, a sprocket ,wheel fixed to each end of said cent end of the drivenshaft, a clutch concentric with and operable between each driving sprocket wheel and the adjacent drive wheel for connecting and disconnectingthem, and means for automatically operating the clutches by tilting the frame.

4-. In an implement of the character. described, the combination of an axle, a pair of driving wheels supporting the axle, a frame supported on the axle and adapted to'be tilted thereon, a wheel-supported pole truck connected to the forward end of said frame, means operable between said pole truck and frame for tilting the latter, a driven shaft jonrnaled on the frame, means for driving said shaft from one of the driving wheels inclnding'a clutch concentric therewith, and means connected to the pole truck and actuated thereby whentilting said'frame for automatically connecting anddisconnecting said clutch. I

LEWIS a WATERMAN. 

